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Ridgid Pressure Washer Model RD80701 Troubleshooting

02-10-2012, 08:46 AM

I have read a lot of posts on here from some very knowledgeable people so I decided to join and post my question. I am hoping that Dr Deere or one of you guys might know the answer. I have a Model RD80701 pressure washer with a Subaru engine. The mfg. date is 7/6/09. This summer, against my better judgement, I let a friend borrow it when he asked. Now it runs like crap! (I know, I know. Just say No!!! to drugs and loaning your tools. LOL)

The engine is surging, backfiring, and I have to keep the choke partially on for it to run. I have cleaned the carburetor, changed the gas, changed the oil, let the pump soak in CLR all night, etc... Nothing helps. The engine also races a lot. If I hold the throttle body on top of the carb almost closed it runs pretty good. As soon as I let of it flys open and starts "bouncing".

Also, when I use the throttle lever to idle up or down it does not change the engine speed. It just seems to run wide open. Is this a governor problem or what?

Comment

Governor issues on the SP17 engine are extremely rare. Of course, if your 'friend' tinkered with it trying to boost performance, that's an entirely different story. That would not be governor failure, that would be boogered up.

Still sounds like the main jet is not passing enough fuel. The fact that it runs decent with the choke partially closed confirms that it's a lean run issue. Drop the carb bowl and make real sure the main jet (it's the brass jet that's screwed into the side of the carb's center post) is clear and clean. If you have a wire feed welder, the .024 welding wire makes a damn handy jet cleaner.

Comment

My problem is very similar to Alex's so I decided to post on this thread.

Here are the symptoms:
• From when it was new, the motor had a tendency to hunt when idling (up and down, up and down) and occasionally would stall/stop when pulling the trigger to wash
• Recently, it would not run well or at all after some period of use – like 30 to 60 minutes. After sitting for an extended period of time (overnight) it would run again but still had a tendency to quit after running for a while
• Most recently, it would not run unless the choke was about ½ open and ½ closed.
• I drained the tank looking for trash or sediment but found none. I took the carb off and cleaned it out but that did not help.
• I took it in to my local Ridgid service center. They diagnosed the problem as a stopped up carb that they could not clean so they replaced it.
• I just tried it for the first time since the carb was replaced. The hunting was gone but, after about 1/2 tank of gas, it stopped again and will not start.
So.....here we go again.

Any ideas of what may be going on here? It runs fine and works fine for a considerable time (1/2 tank of gas) and then stops rather abruptly and will not restart until the next day. I have been fastidious with regards to gasoline and use a special filtered funnel and am careful to use new gas so I think there should be no problems with the fuel supply. The pressure washer pump and other subsystems seem like they are working fine. Is there an electronic ignition module in the engine that may be overheating? Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Barry

Comment

Yes, it's possible that the ignition coil is thermally defective. Only way to tell is to run it 'till it quits and then use a spark tester to see if the coil is firing. On your engine, the ignition 'module' is built into the coil pack. If your engine (you didn't specify which PW you have) has low-oil shutdown, there's a module for it too, and it can also cause the engine to quit once hot if it goes bad.

"HONK if you've never seen a gun fired from a moving Harley"

Comment

I have a similar problem with my RD80704. Have not used in a year and tried to fire up. The engine would turn over, run for a second or two and then quit. Spark plug, oil, air filter all fine. Dropped the bowl, drained all gas, cleaned, refilled. Still have same problem. did not clean the jet - I assume that is what I should try next? I figure it must be that or something with the "Idle Down." I am not sure exactly how that works, but as soon as the unit builds pressure it seems it goes to idle down the throttle and this is about when the engine stops. Is there any adjustments to make on that or should I just clean the carb well?

Comment

I have a similar issue with my RD80701: sometimes after extended run, it will just plain stop. Trying to restart indicates no life for the first few pulls, then it starts up and runs normally. Then I noticed a pattern: this only happens when I run with the choke all the way off.

So I run it with the choke one notch from off (half choke I think).

Sounds like the mixture is too lean, but I cannot find a needle valve on my carb. If someone can point us to one, it might cure my problem as well as the one posted by srx715.